Happy Accidents
by TyrantChimera
Summary: A series of small drabbles and side-shots to the main fics Happy Anniversary and His Own antagonist.
1. Toasters are a pain

This series of ficlets was started by a prompt from a random Tumblr post;

imagine the most serious character you know

now imagine them getting scared by the toaster going off as they walk by

-evilpotato512

I don't have the energy/motivation to keep up the HA revamp at the moment, so you all can have these drabbles in the meantime to have at least some sort of content come out...

* * *

When the Gem Gang woke up each morning, the first thing any of them did was make breakfast. It didn't matter who woke up first, the first chore of the day was fixing up some grub for themselves and the rest of the group. It was a rule followed with cheerful gusto with only one exception. The enigmatic hermit they'd picked up from the desert, who probably didn't know how to prepare food anyways, was excluded from this. They suspected him of being a 'purist' after all, someone who thought reploid and human technologies shouldn't mix. That included reploids having anything to do with food. They respected that decision and let him do what he wanted instead.

That being said he was usually up and about not long after someone started breakfast, or another of them was up themselves. Honestly it probably didn't help him much that he slept on the couch; being that the living room and kitchen were next to each other, you couldn't really make a noise in one and expect the other to remain quiet. The pale blonde man wasn't exactly a heavy sleeper either.

Diamond was the first up on this particular day, Amethyst the second. The purple gang member immediately left to go fetch some milk as the leader, Diamond, swept back his unruly white locks and set to cooking. The smells soon wafted down the halls, summoning the rest of the male members. The females didn't take long to arrive either; Amethyst had apparently given them a head's up.

Their newest member was taking longer than usual to get up, but considering the bedraggled state he'd been in last night no one really wondered why. He dragged himself up, yawning, before making his way past the other members in the kitchen, each of them wishing him a good morning.

That was when the toast popped.

There was a sudden undignified yelp and a mild explosion. All activity stopped dead as the Gem Gang gawked at the soot-covered section of the kitchen and the puffed-up blonde, his hackles raised and his eyes wide with shock. Not a movement pervaded the house until a single, disbelieving twitch from the blonde.

Amethyst, who'd just come back through the front door in time to witness this mess, simply sighed and put the milk down on an undamaged section of the counter before turning back out the door.

"Guess I'd better go get another toaster too, huh."


	2. And so are skipping ropes

Pink and Blue Pearl were having the time of their lives. The whole group was out in the Hunter training fields, practising their skills for battle. Amethyst was off at the shooting range, nailing more than his fair share of targets, Opal cussing beside him as her score fell further and further behind. Emerald and Diamond were sparring nearby. The white-haired leader was on the offensive with a pair of tonfa, but Emerald was tanking any and all hits admirably with a mechanism that looked like a confusing mix between a tower shield and bracer gauntlets that completely covered one arm. Sapphire, meanwhile, was checking over her medical supplies while Ruby chatted endlessly nearby about some sort of fashion designer as she nonchalantly twiddled about with her explosives.

The only ones not holding a weapon of some sort were the young twins, who were too young for such things. Instead they each held a single skipping rope between the two of them and were hopping and singing a catchy song in complete unison. Just because they were too young for weapons didn't mean they weren't going to build up some basic skills in the meantime!

Unusually, their hermit friend had decided to accompany them today. The newest member of the Gem Gang, his platinum hair frizzing up a bit in the chill morning air, was watching the group with an expression somewhere between boredom and mild curiosity. He cocked an eyebrow when Opal swore in a long stream and left the purple sniper to his devices, a triumphant smirk the only acknowledgement the man gave the spastically swearing female. She stomped over to the twins, bringing out some sort of energy whip as she went. Within short order she was skipping over the whip at a blazing pace.

The pale blonde meandered over, his curiosity evidently winning out. "Is this some sort of training?"

"Huh?" Opal turned, her surprise beating out her temper. "Oh, yeah, skipping rope! Yeah, it's actually really good for speed and coordination. Did you want to try? Er, wait..." she looked around, "actually, it looks like we don't really have a spare, sorry..."

"That's-"

"-Okay!"

"He can-"

"-Borrow ours!"

The twins, ever cheerful, immediately held out their own towards him. He took it hesitantly, looking at both ends before firmly grasping them. The blonde glanced at his footing, swung the rope experimentally, and gave a few tentative hops before speeding up.

Three seconds in the rope caught his ankle, immediately tangling him up and vaulting him face-first to the ground. A plume of dust shot up as the three Gem Gang members nearby stared.

Pink frowned, "I think the rope might be-"

"A bit short for you," finished Blue.

The fighter wordlessly got to his feet, handed them back the rope, and walked out the of training grounds with a face as red as a beet, catching the eye of a very confused Sapphire as he left.

Opal promptly fell to the ground laughing.


	3. You can't save them all

Alternate title; it didn't end on a happy note

As this is going to be the last chapter for this fic, I've decided to add in a few tidbits for fics I was going to write for this side-story series, but didn't

raider skit 1: raiders trying to come back to get omega to drink again. He uses the baton

Raider skit 2: raiders apparently do some funny ass shit when they get drunk. A group of them wakes him up, he looks outside his room on the _Blight Brouillard_ just enough to describe/see the carnage, everything goes dead quiet, and then he just shuts the door and pretends he never saw anything because it's better for his sanity that way.

anyways, enjoy!

* * *

The first time they saw the posters was during an otherwise idyllic day in Hunter's camp. For Emerald, silent but observant., it was not unusual for him to slow down and watch something when it caught his interest. And when Emerald took notice of something enough to stop and stare, it didn't take long for anyone else to catch it either.

Opal was the second to notice it. She started saying something about the image, but her conversation died on her lips as the words on the sign sunk in. She too stopped, taking but a few steps forward as her normally jovial and energetic mannerisms evaporated into stunned, sullen silence.

Diamond, the one whom she'd been conversing with, noticed immediately after she did. As he followed her gaze his confident, reassuring smile froze solid. His posture slackened until as notice took his complete attention, the relentless energy he seemed to have cracking and breaking down silently.

Ruby was next. Her fist clenched, shaking in a mixture of emotion. She looked to her blue-clad friend, trying to step protectively in front of Sapphire, but alas, it was too late.

When the blue medic saw the sign, she stiffened. A small gasp, despair audible, left her mouth in a quiet rush. She lifted her hands to her breast, trembling as she curled in on herself.

The twins moaned and wailed, but were too small and stunned to be any louder than the under-sized, half starved children that they really were underneath all their enthusiastic quirks.

At some point Amethyst had also noticed. Ever practical, he was already there at the poster, removing it from the board of with the grace of someone who'd seen all the symptoms yet had done his best to help regardless.

He walked back to the group, his slow, steady motions breaking them from their stupor. They gathered in a circle, staring listlessly at the thick, fraying paper and what was printed upon it. No words were spoken. No words needed to be spoken. As it passed from one to the next, as hands both small and smooth or large and calloused felt the page and its ultimatum, not one could make a noise. They each stared at the page in their own way. Some of their eyes watered, some of their teeth gritted, some of them breathed heavily and shook. The poster made its way back to Amethyst. Despite their brightly coloured clothes and variety in shapes and sizes, the entire group seemed small, dull, and insignificant in the midday heat.

It was Opal who spoke up first. "I guess... that's that, huh?"

Ruby snarled under her breath. "Damnit,"she cursed. Whether at the subject of the poster or her own short-fallings in preventing the situation, no one knew.

Sapphire, her initial sadness overcome, comforted the twins. They sniffed and snuffled and looked to the others for some sort of reassurance. "It... something must have made him do that-"

"People just don't do that for no reason-"

"What made him do that?" they both finished.

Sapphire merely kneeled in front of the pair, hugging them for all she was worth. She said nothing, but offered her support. Even though she looked delicate and frail, her love and strength was firm when her friends needed it the most.

"We did what we could." Diamond stated. The others looked to him, their expressions mixed. Emerald moved over, patting him on the back. A small grunt let the pale leader know he was heard.

"You're right. We gave him a chance... we gave him a home if he needed it. Maybe we could have done more, maybe not. But we did all we could. And maybe, if he showed up again and genuinely needed our help... no, not maybe. If that happened, I know we'd help him again regardless," Amethyst explained. "But in the end he didn't want our help. He took his own path, and we'll just have to hope it will work out for the best in the end."

The sniper stepped forward, putting his hand on Diamond's unoccupied shoulder. Diamond, the overly energetic man who always did everything he could to help others. The man who hid his terror at being unable to rescue those in need, unable to spare innocent people and despairing blackhearts alike no matter their history. If there was a need for assistance, he had a need to help.

He and Amethyst exchanged a meaningful look. Not the first, nor the last of its kind. They all knew what it meant.

"...You can't save them all," Diamond finally choked out.

"You can't save them all," they repeated the mantra.

The Gem Gang huddled. They held each other, the ones that _had_ been saved, and left their forlorn place in front of the billboard. The page they'd held was dropped, left to the mercy of the harsh, unfeeling wind.

Omega's wanted poster, emblazoned with his visage and his crimes, fluttered away into the breeze.


End file.
